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In this file photo of July 15, 2011, Indians read newspapers at Zaveri Bazar, a market in Mumbai, India. (AP)
NEW DELHI – India has been shaken by a series of crowd murders triggered by a hoax on kidnappers spread over WhatsApp
In just two months, 20 people have been murdered in such attacks. Officials and social media have so far been unable to stop the violence.
But who is to blame? And why does a rumor turn people to violence?
A rumor is born
An online hoax emerged over a year ago in eastern India, claiming that foreigners were seducing and abducting people. children. Six men wrongly accused of ripping off children were killed by rioters in the state of Jharkhand, police said.
In February of this year, rumors resurfaced nearly a thousand kilometers in the west of India. In May, he had reached the southern states of the country, often accompanied by a grainy video meant to show men stealing children.
This lie has spread like wildfire via WhatsApp, which has 200 million users in India.
Later, a macabre video claiming to show Indian children killed by gangs collecting organs became viral. The macabre images were Syrian children killed in a gas attack five years ago.
Translated into regional languages, rumor has triggered violence in India, particularly in rural areas where mistrust of foreigners is low. At the beginning of July, at least twenty people had been killed in the previous two months. Among the victims were homeless people, two picnickers and an elderly woman distributing chocolates to the children.
Police without power
Indian police arrested suspects and made rumored patrols. In some areas, traveling musicians sang about the scourge of false news
In some states, authorities shut down Internet access in a desperate attempt to prevent the spread of the hoax
. In one case, an official "rumor drinker" was himself beaten to death.
Anger turned to WhatsApp, blamed by the authorities for broadcasting "irresponsible and explosive messages"
– Seeking Penance –
WhatsApp says that he was "horrified" by violence and has assured the Indian authorities that she was taking action.
The Facebook-owned company said it was working with Indian researchers to better understand the problem and make changes that would reduce the spread of such messages.
But some pointed out that WhatsApp was not to blame, and urged the authorities to attack the violence
Mob rule
L & # 39; India is no stranger to popular violence, – documented cases of crowds making victims for any transgression, real or imagined.
In recent years, for example, there has been a sharp escalation in "vigilant cows" – Hindu extremists killing Muslims and Muslims. Low-caste Dalits accused of killing cows or eating beef.
Many victims in other vigilante killings, such as those on rumors of kidnappings, are targeted because they are foreign
– Facts & Fiction –
India is fertile ground for false news to develop.
It has more than one billion mobile phone users – more than any other country – and nearly half a billion people with Internet access, most smartphones
Combined and low cost data plans bring more Indians online, but many of them are inexperienced by fiction.
Indian police say rumors of kidnappings are in vain
More than 120,000 children were abducted or reported missing in 2016, according to the latest figures from the Indian government. There is no data available on the number of children that have been found.
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